The BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION is based on the Field and Prior Art as follows:
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to versatile and collapsible personal exercise equipment intended for the flexion of a variety of muscles in the lower torso. Each configuration is assembled from a kit of cooperating components into several geometries for the flexion exercise of muscle groups of the lower torso.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
There are a variety of muscles that need stretching exercises to avoid injury in many sports, dancing and athletic activities as well as to alleviate strain problems as part of a regimen of physical therapy. Generally athletes and dancers are trained as to proper exercises and patients in the course of physical therapy are under the supervision of appropriate medical practitioners. Too often, such exercise machines are limited in use and geometric layout or bulky and not very portable. The device described herein is a kit of cooperating components that accommodates itself to different geometrical arrangements so that one can selectively flex the Achilles tendon, Calf muscles, Hamstrings, Adductors, and/or Lower Back muscles in a variety of user positions. The exercises so performed are known to comply with the protocol for conditioning the muscles for dancing and sports or for relieving strain which generally causes discomfort in individuals.
The crowded art of exercise devices generally accomplish the same goals by various approaches that are often just subtly different. A major class includes active and passive machines which employ either motors (U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,801; Reed; Apr. 10, 1992: U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,559; Brady; Oct. 24, 1995) or weights (U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,724B2; Taylor; Mar. 9, 2004). These are often bulky, heavy and require special placement and supervision. A danger exists in these machines because of the potential overpowering of the user by the driving energy source. Another class utilizes moving exercise components (U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,801; Davies; Jun. 6, 1995: U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,594B1; Simonson; Oct. 2, 2001) and are limited in physical rearrangements. A hazard exists in these devices if a moving component slips or is maladjusted to an unacceptable limit. The simpler static devices (U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,678; Lamb; Mar. 4, 1986: U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,992B1; James; Jun. 12, 2001) are very limited to the exercises to be performed. Some of the other multiple exercise machines are divided up into stations (U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,005 & U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,198B1; Gray; May 8, 2001 &Jul. 2, 2002) and are quite bulky and complex. The within described device overcomes all the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a simple, lightweight, compact and versatile set of cooperating components which may be assembled into holistic exercise devices intended for the personal use in the consumer market and designed to safely and selectively flex the critical muscles of the entire lower torso. The exercising of each major muscle grouping is specifically targeted according to the geometry of the assembled components. The interoperability of components permits the user to expand and modify the recommended geometries to fit his/her needs and creativity. During each exercise, the amount of stretch flexion is controlled by the user's judgment and limits of his/her toleration. The degree of flexion is always under the immediate control of the user. One can maintain a static pose until the muscle set relaxes into the assumed stance, and then the user progresses simply to the next level by readjusting the exercise components.